Omega Ukama 
ZIMBABWE scored higher in this year’s Absa Africa Financial Markets Index survey, which showed continued progress across the continent despite prevailing global challenges.
The country was ranked 18th out of 28 countries after placing 19th in the 2022 edition of the survey.
“Among the biggest improvements in the overall score were Zimbabwe and Rwanda, rising by almost two points each, linked to progress in building sustainable financial market frameworks,” read the report.
“Zimbabwe has added climate risks to financial stability regulation,” it said.
This comes as a number of sectors in the country, including banking and insurance, have started adopting sustainability and climate change principles and the country has taken a pre-emptive approach to sustainability disclosures in financial reporting by early adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. Zimbabwe did particularly well in the market transparency and legal standards categories but scored poorly in market depth and access to foreign exchange.
For the second year running, scores have risen for the majority of countries. They increased in 15 countries largely due to an improvement in market transparency, particularly a rise in the number of credit ratings.
“Most countries also score higher… as macroeconomic conditions have generally stabilised following shocks from the (Covid-19) pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the report said.
However, progress in the index has not been uniform. Each country experienced a lower score in at least one of the six categories surveyed.
“This is mainly due to unfavourable global conditions outside of African policy-makers’ direct control.
“The underlying message is one of slow progress in building capital markets. In 17 countries, scores are higher this year than when they were first introduced to the index. But there is a wide gap between the highest scoring countries and the rest.”
Now in its seventh year, the index scores African countries’ financial development based on measures of market accessibility, openness and transparency.
With support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, coverage in this year’s report has grown to 28 economies, with the addition of Cabo Verde and Tunisia.
“The aim of the report is to show how countries can reduce barriers to investment and boost sustainable growth,” said the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), which partners Absa in the annual survey. To compile the index, OMFIF conducted extensive quantitative research and data analysis with surveys of over 50 organisations across Africa, including central banks, securities exchanges, regulators, and market participants.
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